Automatic pressure, temperature, and vacuum relief valve



AUTOMATIC PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE, AND VACUUM RELIEF VALVE Filed Dec. 6, 1947 IN V EN TOR.

Erich Z0. war-70 Patented May 15, 1951 AUTOMATIC PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE, AND VACUUM RELIEF VALVE Erich W. Work, West to The Beaton & Cad

Hartford, Conn, assignor well Mfg. 00., New Britain,

Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 6, 1947, Serial No. 790,205

6 Claims.

1 This invention relates to automatic relief valves, and more particularly to a valve responsive to excess positive or negative fluid pressure or excess temperature to release fluid from a tank or other vessel.

The improved valve is designed to prevent explosions in connection with domestic hot water supply systems, industrial pressure systems, and other systems containing liquids and gases which may attain either excessive pressure or excessive temperature, or both. The valve Will also relieve a vacuum, whereby collapsing of the tank or vessel will be prevented.

One object of this invention is to provide an automatic relief valve having a main valve and an auxiliary discharge valve controlling said main valve in such a manner that a high discharge capacity is obtained without advancing the predetermined point of relief, and also causing the main valve to close before an excessive pressure drop occurs.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature which will operate equally well to relieve excessive pressure or excessive temperature of either liquids or gases, or to relieve a vacuum in a system that is normally under pressure.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature having an auxiliary discharge valve actuated by independently adjustable pressure responsive and heat responsive means.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature having a main valve directly actuated by fluid pressures alone, said valve having no direct connection with springs, weights, or mechanical lever mechanisms.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

The drawing shows a sectional view taken on the vertical axis of the improved pressure, temperature, and vacuum relief valve.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral It indicates generally a valve housing having a lower end in the form of a threaded nipple H adapted for connection to a tank or other pressure vessel T. The housing It] is provided with a tapped drain outlet l2 at one side for connection to the discharge pipe P which may lead to tank T, the principal path of the flow will beany point suitable for discharge ofthe excess fluid passing through the relief valve.

When the fluid is being discharged from the upwardly through the threaded nipple H and a vertical channel l3 past a main valve disk I4, which will then be Wide, open, and through a main chamber is into the pipe P. The main valve disk M normally closes a circular main valve seat It on the upper edge of a cylindrical flange ll formed on the interior of the housing It], said valve disk I4 being actuated by mechanisms which will be described hereinafter. The main chamber 15 is formed as a cavity in the upper end of a lower housing section it closed at the top by a flexible main diaphragm l9 clamped between the housing section l8 and an upper housing section 20, as by screws (not shown).

The main valve disk I4 is connected in parallel concentric relation to the main diaphragm l9 by a tubular main valve stem 2i having a downwardly facing shoulder 22, and a retaining nut 23 threaded thereon to hold the main valve disk It in a backing cup 24 against said shoulder 22. The main valve stem 2| is provided with a circular flange 25 at its upper end and passes downwardly through a central aperture of the main diaphragm l9, said stem having a nut 26 threaded thereon, which bears against a washer 21 to clamp the central portion of the main diaphragm l9 against the underface of the circular flange 25, whereby the main valve disk I 4 and main diaphragm I 9 will be securely held for simultaneous movement.

Slidably fitted Within the tubular stem 21 is a vertical push rod 28 forming part of a temperature responsive mechanism for opening the relief valve, to be described below.

The flexible main diaphragm l9 serves as the lower Wall of a pressure chamber 29 formed in the lower part of the upper housing section 2!). The housing I!) is provided with an angular outlet channel 30 extending from a central point in the pressure chamber 29, through a radial arm 3| formed integrally with the upper housing section 20 and into the main chamber l5, said arm being formed at its inner end with an upwardly facing circular discharge valve seat 32 centrally of the pressure chamber 29, said valve seat normally being closed by a discharge valve disk 33.

A cylindrical cup 3G is snugly fitted into a bore in the upper end of the housing Hi, and is retained between an inner shoulder 35 formed at the top of the pressure chamber 29, and the lower end 36 of a tubular spring housing 31 threaded into a counterbore 38 in the upper housing section 20.

The cylindrical cup 34 is provided with an upper movable wall in the form of an upper flexible diaphragm 39 clamped between said cup 34 and said spring housing 31, thereby forming an upper chamber 40. 34 serves as a division wall between the chambers 29, 40, and is provided with a central interior sleeve portion 42 slidably mounting a valve stem d3 having a reduced threaded lower end, upon which the discharge valve disk 33 and a retaining cup 44 are secured by a threaded cap 45. The upper end of the valve stem 43 is in the form of a ball 46.

An angular channel 41 is formed through the stem 43 to provide fluid communication between the ends thereof. The discharge valve disk 33 is urged to closed position by a coil valve spring 48 disposed within the spring housing 31 and pressed downwardly by a basewasher 49 held by an adjustable screw bushing 50 threaded into the upper end of the housing 31.

The spring 48 rests upon an outer flange of an inverted cup 52 received within the lower end of the spring 48, said cup embracing and bearing upon the upper ball end 46 of the stem 43 in order to hold the discharge valve disk 33 normally closed. 7

A flanged bushing 53 surrounds the valve stem :23 in spaced relation, and is threaded through a central aperture of the upper diaphragm 39, and into the lower end of the inverted cup 52, whereby the upper diaphragm 39 'is clamped and held sealed against the flange 5|.

The upper end of the flanged bushing'53 forms a circular seat 54, whereby communication between the angular channel '4'! and the upper chamber 43 may be cut off under certain conditions by contact of said seat 54 'with the ball end 46 of the stem 43.

Thus, it will be seen that a continued rise in pressure in the upper chamber 40 will causethe upper diaphragm 39 to flex upwardly against the force of the valve spring 48, firstbringing the circular seat 54 into engagement with the upper ball end 43, and closing off communication with the nipple I l. A furtherrise.inpressure will then raise the discharge valve disk 33 from the discharge valve seat '32. The upper chamber M} is in communication with the vertical channel E3 in the nipple H througha conduit 55 in the wall of the housing I'D, whereby the fluid pressure will be e'qualized in the fupper chamber 48, the vertical channel l3, and the tank T.

Openings 59 are formed in the sprihgQhOiising 3'! in order to insure that the interior of said housing will remain at atmospheric pres sure, thereby permitting free functioning of the upper diaphragm 39 in accordance with thefluid pressures exerted upon it, and providing means for the discharge of fluid, should'the'diaphra'gm 39 break. The upper end of the inverted cup 52 is provided with a socket 51 crimped over at its upper edge to retain a lower ball end "of a stem 58 extending outwardly through the aperture of the adjustable bushing 50, and pivoted to a manually-operable lever 59, whereby the discharge valve may be opened at any time'for purposes of testing.

In order to provide for opening of the relief valve in response to excessive "temperature, a

nt 5!! is supported con- The bottom M of the cup .7

centrically within the vertical channel l3, being adjustably threaded in a lug Bl formed on the lower end of the threaded nipple H. The upper end of the heat responsive element 60 has a loose pin and socket connection 62 with the lower end of the push rod 28 described previously.

The upper end of the rod 28 within the pressure chamber 29 has an enlarged head 63 engageable with ears 64 formed on the lower edge of the retaining cup 45 of the valve disk 33, whereby expansion of the heat responsive element 60 will open the auxiliary valve 33 to cause the relief valve to discharge fluid from the tank. When the temperature drops, contraction of the heat-responsive element 33 will permit the spring 48, aided by the internal pressure in the chamber 29, to close the discharge valve 33.

Operation -In operation, the improved relief valve will be connected by means of the threaded nipple Ii to the tank T or other fluid pressure system. The valve mechanism will normally remain in the position shown in the drawing, wherein the main valve disk I4 is closed against the seat It to prevent the discharge of fluid.

It will be seen that under these conditions, the fluid will enter the vertical channel [3, the conduit 55, the upper chamber 40, the angular channel 51, and the pressure chamber 29 to press the main diaphragm l9 downwardly to hold the disk l4 closed. The diaphragm- "19 being of substantially greater area than said disk l4, any slight increase in pressure will serve to close the main valve more tightly.

Although the pressure in the chamber 33 will tend to raise the flexible upper diaphragm 39,

the coiled spring '48 will be adjusted to hold the upper diaphragm 39 depressed under normal conditions of pressure. Inasmuch as the inverted cup '52 is connected "to said diaphragm 39,'this cup will bear against the upper ball end 35 of 'the'valve stem '43 to hold the discharge valve disk 33 firmly closed, thereby retaining the pressure in the chamber 23. It will be understood that the fluid pressure in the chamber '29 will also tend to hold the disk "33 closed.

Assuming now thatfthe pressure in the "tank T rises beyond'the release point for which "the spring 48 is set. the upper diaphragm 39 gradually be forced upwardly carrying with it the inverted cup 52.

The discharge valve disk '33 will at first re-' main against the valvejseatf32 due'to'the pres sureacting .on top of "this disk, so that no pressure drop will occurin theclh'amber 29;. Continued rise in pressure "in the chamber '55, how ever, 'will bring the circular seat '53, which is supported within the inverted cup 52, into'gengagement with 'theball end '65 offthe'valve stem.

This movement will resultin closing all communication between the chamber 39 and the angular channel 41in th'e"'stem,'preventing further'pressure rise inthe chamber 23. Still fur: 'ther rise of the rupp'er diaphragm "39 will lift the discharge valve "33from the seat-32, thereby 'permittinga releasefoffluid from thechamber .29 through the "angular outlet channel 33 and into the discharge pipe P. 'The resulting pressure drop in the chamber 29 relieves the load from the discharge valve3i3, thereby permitting the diaphragm13j9. to. compress the spring :48 furfrom its seat.

The main diaphragm [9 will then be free to flex upwardly permitting the main valve disk- M to rise fully under the influence of the fluid pressure in the channel I3 and the tank T, so that the fluid may be discharged from the tank at a high rate.

This discharge will continue until such time as the excess pressure is relieved, whereupon the pressure in the chamber 40 will drop, being equalized with the tank pressure through the conduit 55, until the force of the spring 48 is suflicient to overcome the upward pressure on the upper diaphragm 39.

The inverted cup 52 will then descend, carrying with it the valve stem 43 and the discharge valve 33 to close off the outlet channel 30 from the chamber 29. The parts will now be in their original position, whereby fluid pressure in the tank T and the chamber 29 are equalized to firmly hold the main valve disk l4 against the valve seat It at the upper end of the chamber l3, and also to assist the spring 48 in holding the discharge valve disk 33 against the seat 32.

Thus, it will be seen that the main valve is actuated by fluid pressures under the control of an auxiliary spring-pressed discharge valve. The fluid pressure will normally act directly upon the discharge valve 33, tending to hold it closed, and the spring 48, also will act through the inverted cup 52 and the valve stem 43 to maintain a closing force on the discharge valve disk 33. The discharge valve will be opened only when the fluid pressure increases to a point at which the upper diaphragm 39 will be pressed upwardly against the force of the spring 48 and the fluid pressure on the upper side of the disc 33.

Considering now that the fluid pressure drops below a certain predetermined point, the pressure in the chamber 29, being equalized with the tank pressure, will also drop. Since the main diaphragm l9 has a larger effective area thanthe main valve disk l4, any excessive drop of pressure against the diaphragm will cause the main valve M to open due to atmospheric pressure under said diaphragm l9, thereby admitting air from the pipe P through the chamber and the vertical channel l3 to the tank T. Thus, the improved relief valve will serve also as a vacuum breaker.

The improved relief valve also will function to release fluid from the tank T in the event that excessive temperature rise occurs. This function will be a result of the expansion of the heat responsive element 60, thereby raising the push rod 28, the enlarged head 63, and the ears 64 in contact with said enlarged head, in order to open the discharge valve disc 33 and permit discharge of fluid pressure from the pressure chamber 29. When this occurs, the main valve disk 54 will rise from the valve seat IE to permit fluid to be discharged through the pipe P as described above.

The valve may be readily tested at any time by manually-operating the testing lever 59 to raise the stem 58 and the inverted cup 52 connected therewith, so as to open the discharge valve and thereby permit opening of the main valve I 4.

It will be seen that the pressure responsive means and the heat responsive means are independently adjustable. Thus, the screw bushing 59 at the top of the spring housing 31 may be turned to vary the pressure which the spring 48 exerts upon the upper diaphragm 39 to control the point at which the relief valve will operate under the influence of excess pressure. The heat responsive element 60 may be rotated to vary its position in the threaded lug 6|, so as to control the point at which the push rod 28 will raise the ears 64 to open the auxiliary discharge valve 33," whereupon the main valve will open in the same" manner as when conditions of excess pressure features in the event of accidental breakdown.

Another advantage is that the valve will operate promptly to relieve excess pressure, temperature, or vacuum, while avoiding a so-called snap-action, which is wasteful of fluid, since a considerable drop in pressure must occur before such a valve closes.

Another advantage is that wire-drawing willnot occur, since movement of the main valve disk, when initiated, will be carried through to completion whereby the valve will be either held open or firmly closed.

Further, the relief valve includes no mechanical leverage or linkage systems, which are diflicult to maintain, and yet provides separate adjustments for the point of pressure relief and the point of temperature relief.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which this invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that it is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in Various other forms. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, What is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a relief valve having an inlet and an outlet, a main valve controlling communication between said inlet and said outlet, and means including a pressure chamber normally in communication with said inlet for holding said main valve closed; means responsive to a predetermined pressure rise in said inlet for completely closing communication between said pressure chamber and said inlet, means includin a normally closed discharge valve for retaining fluid in said pressure chamber, said discharge valve being provided with opposite surfaces respectively exposed to fluid pressures in said pressure chamber and in said outlet and responsive to superior pressure in said pressure chamber for holding said discharge valve closed during said predetermined pressure rise, and means responsive to a further pressure rise in said inlet for opening said discharge valve whereby opening movement of the discharge valve will be uninterrupted by a flow of fluid from said inlet into said pressure chamber.

2. In a relief valve having an inlet, an outlet, a main valve for controlling communication between said inlet and outlet, a pressure chamber, and a movable wall responsive to fluid pressure .d n t: P t Y 1L a; 23 1. 3 means.- i normally holding said discharge valve clgsed andjs d al me n pe d. mean a adns, a 19st mot n; q nn e i a iw fie. ai 1 .9

iil w ll n aid is har e valve e ons t9- ucqe sive ness re ses ni Ille I-Q PQF" sl lq ins a d l e mean completely and. pe -ins; aid d scha a ve r by fl fromsaidq inlet; will be prevented from entering ai e s hamb r d r n penin ma ent. Qff aid dis ha e valv 3. n. a. r lief v l e. h vin let, and a pressure chamber; mechanism; for q r l ina iiiid m asur nsa d. chamb r 9mm; a va ameans r dmit in lu d; qm id: nle t a d P e hambe i e esessed; ov ble W sQS d; h P ess r lui d inlet, said e s all b in cc pec edite sa d v -m ns mi P-s m i a l response to a predetermined rise in. said; inlet fluid pressure to completely close saidvalve nn t s 1 and a further-pressure increase will separate 3.151; i z l msm e t m its Seat- 5. In a reliefvalve, a housing having a circu- 1 ular. main valve seat internally. thereo'ffand a passage through said seat and housing adapted, tobeconnected in communicationv with a pressure system below said seat, a main. valve disk movable downwardly. against said seat, a diaphragm of greater area than said valve disk, a valvestem securing said disk to said diaphragm whereby fluid pressure upon the upper side oi said diaphragm is adapted to press said, disk against saidv valve seat, means. normally. equalizing. the; fluid pressure on-theupper side of said diaphragm, with thepressure in the pressure system, mean's automatically relieving. said diaphragm of. fluid. pressure in. response to a predetermined, pressure rise, a heat-expansive ele.-.

Inent, means for. adjustably. mounting. said ele- Ineans, a discharge valve for'releasingfluid from saidpressure. chamber, and a lost-motion con.- nection between said movable wall and said diseharge valve responsive to a further rise said inlet pressure for initiating; and continuin pen ng oveme of: a d ha ge. valva 4,111; a reliefvalve having a pressure chamber; rrrechanisrn for controlling; flu d pressure n. s idch mber mp si n ut e a iases having a valve seatiwithin said chambera discharge valve member adapted to engage said valve seat, an upper chamber communicating with a; source of; fluid under pressure and hav ing; a wall movable response to changes in fluid pressure, a lost-motion. connection betweensaid movable wall and. said discharge. valve. member. comprising a valve means anda slid.- able, hollow stem connected thereto, said stem extending into both of saidchambers and providing ani let channel forsaid pressure chamber, said valve, means controlling said. inlet chair-1 nel and comprising; an enlarged valve element, on said stem. and acircular seat loosely, embracing. said stem inwardly of said valve. element so as'to engage said valve element and close said inlet channel upon extension of said lost-mo;- tion connection, and resilient means for holding said valve means open and said valve mernber closed, whereby a pressure upper chamber will first close said valve means,

increase in said ment within sa-id passage below said-main valve. disk, and. mechanism providing operative. engagement between said heat-expansive element and said pressure relieving. means, whereby, expansion. of said element in response, to an. in.- crease. in, temperature in said passage to. a. pre-v determined. point will actuate the pressure relieving, means. to. relievethe fluid pressure uponv the; diaphragm, and permit the main valve to. n: r

6. The invention as; defined. in claim 5, in which said mechanism includes. a push rod extending from said. elementthrough a. bore. in said valvestem andv upwa-ndlyv beyondv said. diaphragm, said;- push rod bein operatively engaged with said pressure relieving means. M

ERICH W. WORK.

REFERENCES- CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Horne Feb. 

